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US Militarism and Sisyphean “Aid†to Israel/Palestine

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  • Jennifer C. Olmsted

Abstract

What can we learn about militarism by looking at aid patterns through the lens of Greek myth? The story of Sisyphus emphasizes him being fated to repeating the same monumental task for eternity as a punishment for his cruelty and arrogance. Using the case of Israel/Palestine, I examine the history of the provision of US military aid to Israel, a highly militarized, high-income country, as well as tracing official development assistance to the Palestinians, which, I illustrate, primarily and very ineffectively serves to “correct†Israel’s punitive actions. A focus on US aid exposes the complicity of the United States in terms of perpetuating a horrific cycle of violence, as well as providing details concerning who gains and who loses from these expenditures. Where data are available, I also identify some gendered impacts of both the aid expenditures and violence. I conclude by arguing that reparations are required to address the historic and ongoing damage inflicted on Palestinians through US/Israeli militarism and that such reparations need to focus on intersectional vulnerability. JEL Classification: F35, N45, H56, I3

Suggested Citation

  • Jennifer C. Olmsted, 2025. "US Militarism and Sisyphean “Aid†to Israel/Palestine," Review of Radical Political Economics, Union for Radical Political Economics, vol. 57(2), pages 266-281, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:reorpe:v:57:y:2025:i:2:p:266-281
    DOI: 10.1177/04866134251334443
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. William Easterly & Tobias Pfutze, 2008. "Where Does the Money Go? Best and Worst Practices in Foreign Aid," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 22(2), pages 29-52, Spring.
    2. repec:uwe:journl:v:3:y:2008:i:2:p:39-48 is not listed on IDEAS
    3. Bichler, Shimshon & Nitzan, Jonathan, 1996. "Military Spending and Differential Accumulation: A New Approach to the Political Economy of Armament – The Case of Israel," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 28(1), pages 51-95.
    4. Numan Kanafani & Samia Al-Botmeh, 2008. "The political economy of food aid to Palestine," Economics of Peace and Security Journal, EPS Publishing, vol. 3(2), pages 39-48, July.
    5. Shimshon Bichler & Jonathan Nitzan, 1996. "Military Spending and Differential Accumulation: A New Approach to the Political Economy of Armament — The Case of Israel," Review of Radical Political Economics, Union for Radical Political Economics, vol. 28(1), pages 51-95, March.
    6. Jennifer C. Olmsted, 2008. "Post-Oslo Palestinian (un)employment: A gender, class, and age-cohort analysis," Economics of Peace and Security Journal, EPS Publishing, vol. 3(2), pages 33-38, July.
    7. repec:uwe:journl:v:3:y:2008:i:2:p:33-38 is not listed on IDEAS
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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • F35 - International Economics - - International Finance - - - Foreign Aid
    • N45 - Economic History - - Government, War, Law, International Relations, and Regulation - - - Asia including Middle East
    • H56 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - National Security and War
    • I3 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty

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